Germany Will Lead Annual Offshore Wind Installations in 2015 as UK Loses Top Spot

According to the latest report from research and consulting firm GlobalData, Germany is poised to become the world’s leading market for annual offshore wind turbine installations. The country will add an impressive 2,071 megawatts (MW) this year, which represents an almost fourfold increase from the 529 MW that they installed last year.

It really looks like 2015 is going to be a big year for offshore wind energy as the report estimates that global annual offshore wind installations will more than double from 1,681 MW in 2014 to 3,903 MW. They expect the trend to remain strong in 2016 with installations of 3,255 MW forecast.

Ankit Mathur, GlobalData’s Practice Head for Power, says that while Germany’s annual offshore installations will soar this year, UK additions will remain relatively steady, decreasing marginally from 813 MW in 2014 to 801 MW in 2015. Furthermore, the UK will slip down to third place in the rankings, as China surges into second position with 817 MW in 2015.

Order intake for offshore wind turbines last year rose at a phenomenal compound annual growth rate of 36.7% from 288 MW in 2013 to 1,346 MW in 2014.

Siemens remained the market leader in 2014 with an offshore order intake of 690 MW, followed by Areva with 350 MW.

Below is a really wonderful video from Siemens on how an offshore wind farm is built. It is quite a feat of engineering:

About Tracey SmithTracey is an accountant and entrepreneur with a passion for nature. This passion is what spurred her interest in renewable energy, and the rest is history as they say. Tracey is a principal in Energy Think Group, the publisher of Solar Thermal Magazine and Tek-Think. She is also the principal at Women's Financial Help Desk. She spends her free time in the outdoors with her horses and dogs. She loves to travel.